Kairi didn't move immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on the girl's back, his mind racing through countless possibilities.
A trap?
Another Time Breaker?
Or something even worse?
But one thing was certain—
She knew about Sato.
And that alone… was enough.
Kairi took a step forward.
"…Fine."
If anything dangerous happens… I can always use my ability to get out.
As they walked, Kairi quietly observed her.
Her way of dressing… her presence…
She seems sharp. Intelligent.
She must have a Class related to tracking if she was able to find me…
But if she already knew I killed Sato, she should have come for me much earlier…
Why now? Or is it because her "respawn anchor" activated later than mine?
Lost in thought, Kairi failed to notice his surroundings—
Thud.
He walked straight into her back.
"…!"
She turned around, completely unfazed.
"We're here."
Kairi looked up.
In front of him—
A cat café.
"…Ugh."
Without another word, she pulled him inside, ordered drinks for both of them, then casually picked up a cat and placed it on her lap, gently stroking it with a small, content smile.
Kairi shot to his feet.
"Why the hell did you bring me to a place like this?!"
She glanced at him.
"You don't like cats? Why are you so worked up?"
"That's not the point!" Kairi frowned. "Was there seriously nowhere else? Somewhere more… discreet?"
"Relax." she replied casually. "At this hour, it's pretty empty. No one's going to overhear us."
Kairi fell silent.
…Her appearance and personality don't match at all.
He let out a breath.
"…Forget it. Let's get back to the main point."
"Who are you? And why do you know about Sato?"
She set the cat down, her expression turning serious.
"Ah, right… I haven't introduced myself yet."
"My name is Yume Mizuki. I was acquainted with Sato in the previous loop."
The moment he heard that, Kairi immediately pressed her:
"If you know about the loop—and you remember Sato even though he doesn't exist in this timeline…"
"…then you're not normal, are you?"
Yume nodded.
"That's right."
"I'm a Time Breaker… just like you."
Kairi's eyes immediately sharpened with caution.
"So… are you here to take revenge for Sato?"
Yume waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh, no, not at all. I have no intention of avenging him. Honestly… I didn't like him either."
She frowned slightly, her tone turning a bit irritated.
"In the previous loop, when I arranged a meeting and proposed cooperation, he made a disgusting remark—said that if I slept with him, he might consider it."
A brief silence passed.
"So I got pissed and left on the spot. Never saw him again after that."
"A few years later, I heard he died… along with someone else in a warehouse behind a construction site."
Kairi relaxed slightly.
"…Then how did you track me down?"
Yume smiled.
"That's a secret."
"You'll find out… if you agree to form an alliance with me—and tell me your Class."
Kairi narrowed his eyes.
"And what do I get in return?"
Yume answered without hesitation:
"I'll tell you about my Class… and share the information I've gathered on other Time Breakers from the previous loop."
Kairi fell into thought.
An ally… in what's coming next… isn't a bad option.
"…Alright."
Yume nodded.
"My Class is The Echo — The Causal Tracker, part of the Hunter class."
"It allows me, from any given event, to observe how it unfolded in previous loops—if I choose to."
"At the same time, I can see what should have happened without interference from Time Breakers."
"And through that… I can immediately identify the one who altered history."
Kairi still wasn't fully convinced.
"And why should I believe any of that?"
Yume shrugged.
"Simple."
"The reason I was able to find you… or Sato… is tied to the Link Star project."
She looked straight at him.
"After using my ability, I learned that in the original timeline—you were the one who created it."
"But in the first loop… that position was taken by Sato."
"That's how I came to know him."
"As for this time, even though you're still the creator of Link Star… it's happening far earlier than it should."
"Combine that with Sato's disappearance… and the fact that only one Time Breaker was eliminated in the previous loop…"
Yume curled her lips slightly.
"I'm fairly certain… you killed Sato and took his place."
Kairi didn't argue.
He simply fell into silence, deep in thought.
"I've told you everything I know." Yume leaned back in her chair.
"What about you?"
"What's your Class?"
Kairi hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave her a brief explanation of his Class.
Of course, he still held back certain details—especially the part about how his ability led to… bizarre outcomes.
Yume nodded slowly after hearing him out.
"A Class like that… and yet, you still managed to kill Sato in the previous loop?"
"And more importantly… how did you fulfill the conditions for Appropriation?"
Kairi stayed silent for a few seconds.
"…It's a long story."
He leaned back, his gaze dimming.
"In the previous loop… I wasn't the one with the advantage."
"On the contrary—"
"I was the one who had everything taken from me."
He began to tell his story.
Bit by bit.
A life that had been replaced.
Everything that should have been his… taken by someone else.
And in the end—
The warehouse.
The confrontation with Sato.
The atmosphere in the café seemed to grow heavier with every word.
Yume didn't interrupt.
She simply listened in silence.
After he finished, she let out a quiet breath.
"…I see."
"To have your achievements… your entire life… taken away by someone else…"
Her gaze softened slightly.
"I think I can understand that feeling."
Kairi looked at her.
"What about you?"
"In the first loop… how did you die?"
Yume leaned back slightly.
"Well… you know, I'm currently an investigator for the police."
"I used my ability to solve quite a number of cases… and at the same time, I was secretly looking into other Time Breakers."
"Because of that, I became a thorn in the side of quite a few groups…"
"And in the end—"
"I was eliminated."
"Then why weren't you erased?" Kairi asked.
Yume shook her head.
"I'm not entirely sure…"
"But maybe it's because the one who killed me didn't know about the loops, so the Appropriation wasn't triggered."
She leaned back slightly, her voice lowering.
"Or maybe… in their eyes, I was just an ordinary person getting too close to the truth…"
"So they got rid of me."
Kairi narrowed his eyes.
"So what exactly have you found out about the other Time Breakers?"
Yume shrugged.
"Enough to get by."
"Some of them have already revealed themselves… while others are still just suspects."
She let out a quiet breath.
"I died pretty early… so my investigation was cut short."
A brief silence settled between them.
Then Yume stood up.
"Well, it's getting late."
"Anything else we need to discuss… we'll handle it over messages."
She pulled out her phone and held it out toward him.
"This is my Line."
Kairi hesitated for a moment.
But in the end, he still took it.
"…Alright."
Yume smiled faintly.
"Make sure you text me."
She turned and walked toward the door.
"Oh, and the morning after tomorrow…"
"I'll introduce you to someone interesting."
The door opened—then quietly closed.
Kairi remained seated.
His gaze followed Yume's figure until she completely disappeared.
And inside him—
was nothing but a tangled mess.